Downtown Milwaukee just scored a fresh beer-and-burger hangout. Draft & Co., the new beer-and-burger concept from the team behind Draft & Vessel, opened to the public Friday at Vel R. Phillips Plaza in the heart of the city. The compact bar leans hard on its 32 rotating draft lines and a focused food menu built around burgers, cheese curds and a few simple snacks, as reported by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
The opening followed a low-key shakedown run. The bar hosted a friends-and-family soft opening on Jan. 13 before welcoming the public and adding a limited kitchen menu, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The paper also reported that the 32-line tap wall is the clear centerpiece and that early service focused on beer, with the new spot set in the plaza on Wisconsin Avenue near the Baird Center and the convention district.
What’s on tap and the menu
According to Draft & Vessel, the bar supplements that wall of taps with cocktails, wine and cider and a compact kitchen that pairs with local burger operator Crave. The operator's site lists regular hours and shows the soft-opening dates, and it notes seasonal returns for Soup Brothers in winter and ice cream service in summer. The layout is intentionally small and designed to serve convention crowds as well as neighborhood visitors.
Who’s behind it and why it matters
The space is being opened by Nathaniel Davauer, the owner of Draft & Vessel, who has run neighborhood outposts in Shorewood and Wauwatosa. In a press release via the City of Milwaukee, DCD Commissioner Lafayette L. Crump said the plaza "is poised to be an exciting addition to the growing and thriving Westown area." The city has framed the vendor space as part of a broader effort to activate Wisconsin Avenue and support downtown events.
A new downtown gathering spot
Vel R. Phillips Plaza is a roughly 30,000-square-foot public space with gardens, an informational kiosk and transit connections, and Visit Milwaukee notes the small vendor building will host food and drink operators. The plaza's proximity to the expanded Baird Center and nearby hotels means Draft & Co. may draw convention traffic in addition to regular downtown footfall. That mix could give the new bar a steady stream of midday and evening customers through the week.
Expect the tap list to change often; Draft & Vessel has the latest hours and soft-opening schedule posted, and the team says they'll tweak the menu as they settle in. For now, the owners are running limited hours while they smooth operations and welcome customer feedback as the new downtown bar finds its rhythm.
